A blog to keep TJ travelers and friends up-to-date on our countries and partners, and what we've been up to.

Tuesday, November 21, 2017

Guatemala 11/21

I’m only 15 and so I’m traveling with my parents who keep throwing me into situations where my Spanish, and awkwardness are challenged. Today was the first day that a game of “How many people can we have talk to Luna!”, began. We were at the mayors office waiting to hear a presentation about initiatives to save the environment when a man came over to me and began talking to me as I was a native. He gestured toward my dad who was grinning ear to ear and nodding to me as I had a short conversation that mostly consisted of me nodding my head and smiling. As we were leaving the mayors office my friend saw a kid playing basketball and wanted to ask if we could play with him but was too shy, so my mom quickly offered my amazing Spanish skills to my friend. After a lot of failed attempts to get up the courage to go talk to the kid I finally went up and asked him, and he nodded and threw me the ball. To my surprise I didn’t die of embarrassment, or other such causes... I was completely fine. Later in the day when we were working with our mason, Araldo, on our stove without the help of our fearless leader and translator Candice I found I wasn’t dying even though I was speaking with a native speaker. The day of near “death” by embarrassment and my parents throwing me into another situation where I had to relay on my Spanish “skills” led to me being on Canal 24. That’s right I was on TV speaking Spanish and I still didn’t die. If not for being in uncomfortable positions we don’t get the opportunity to see how much we can thrive under pressure, and besides dying of embarrassment is harder than it looks, trust me.